


Frosen Steel Week 2020 Non-AU

by Tahnex



Category: RWBY
Genre: All connected, F/F, Frosen Steel Week 2020, Nuts and Dolts - Freeform, Red refrigerator, frosen steel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahnex/pseuds/Tahnex
Summary: Frosen Steel Week Non-AU prompts:Day 1: Beacon DaysDay 2: Atlas NightsDay 3: Glyphs/Silver Eyes/Maiden PowersDay 4: Family/Meet The ParentsDay 5: "Oh, I'm in love..."Day 6: ConfessionsDay 7: Combat SkirtsNot doing Day 8: Free mostly because I was daft enough to write for both the AU and Non-AU prompts...
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Penny Polendina/Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 21
Kudos: 68





	1. Day 1 Beacon Days

**Author's Note:**

> So, Frosen Steel Week 2020! So happy this came up, it's my first time taking part in a shipping week and I'm really happy I did, although next time I think I'll only do either the Non-AU or the AU prompts, as this was quite a lot of work, but I got it all finished in time! (...just)
> 
> The Non-AU work is all connected and part of a single storyline set between Volumes 2 and 3.
> 
> NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENED. EVER.
> 
> (I've rewatched RWBY Chibi with my daughter and that line has just got stuck in my head, especially as we're before the dark times)

“Sal-u-tations friends!” The ginger girl smiled widely and waved enthusiastically at the two girls walking up to her, her hair bouncing slightly as she vibrated on the balls of her feet. 

“Hey Penny!” Of the two girls walking there was one with her face matching Penny’s grin, her short black hair ending in red tips, with an outfit that colour matched the hair; all black with red highlights or undertones, plus some silver mixed in to match her eyes.

“Good morning Penny, I see you’re as excitable as this dolt is.” The second girl looked less enthused to be meeting up with the ginger, a slight frown on her porcelain skinned face. The face was marred only by a faint red line that cut down through her right eyebrow and eye into her cheek, ending just level with the tip of her nose.

“Weeeeeiss,” The ‘dolt’ whined at the more annoyed girl, who flicked her long ponytail as she crossed her arms, the almost white hair reflecting in the morning sun.

“Ruby it isn’t 9am yet and you’re bouncing around like a puppy on a sugar rush. What did you even have for breakfast?”

Ruby suddenly stopped being excited and looked away slightly as she tapped the ends of her first fingers together. “...Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Crunch.”

“What was that? You need to speak a bit louder so people can actually hear you...” Weiss suddenly looked a little shocked and muttered to herself, “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Crunch.”

Weiss closed her eyes in exasperation before leaning forwards and flicking Ruby in the forehead, “Ow!”

Penny giggled at the pair, who both remembered they had company at the same time.

“My apologies Penny, both for myself and this dolt.” Weiss put on a slightly forced smile.

“No need to apologise friend Weiss! I appreciate you both taking time to show me around Vale. I’ve never been in a city other than Atlas before.”

Weiss blinked and leaned back slightly, a little surprised at that information, whereas Ruby was more vocal in her surprise, her jaw actively dropping for a moment before she exclaimed, “What?! Really? Why? Oh, Vale is awesome! You’ll love it!”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why have you never left Atlas?” Weiss was more than a little curious as to why, especially if Penny had lived in the highly expensive city of Atlas, that she’d never visited a different city before, but she wouldn’t show it.

“Oh, umm, my father is very protective of me. He worries about me a lot.” Penny nodded her head at the last bit.

Weiss wasn’t convinced though, but Ruby butted in before she could continue to ask about it.

“How about we start this tour then? Come on Penny!” Ruby started walking off with Penny following behind her, only for Ruby to stop and look at Weiss, “Err...this is the way, right?”

Weiss just sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, this is the way.”

The three girls walked round Vale, Weiss pointing various things out, attempting to impart some level of wisdom and knowledge about the city. She was generally undermined by Ruby however, who was determined to point out some of the best places to eat or play video games at. To her credit, Penny seemed to appreciate both aspects, saying she’d never really played video games before, and when Weiss pointed out an art gallery, she admitted she didn’t understand painting, but she did like looking at statues.

“Oh! Oh! Wait Weiss, wait a sec! This shop is actually really important!”

Weiss turned to look at Ruby, who was practically jumping with excitement outside what appeared to be a normal dust store.

“You are very excited about this store Ruby; do they do a special type of dust you like using?” Penny was also a little confused by Ruby’s excitement but tried to show interest.

“Pfft nah!” Ruby waved a hand as she dismissed the idea, “If I wanted special dust, I’d just ask Weiss here _suuuuuper_ nicely!” She beamed at Weiss who gave her a flat stare before rolling her eyes with a slight smile. “It’s just that this store is where I fought that Torchwick guy the first time! He was robbing it with some goons, and they tried to rob me too, but I had my baby with me, so I was all hi-yaa! And beat the snot out of them all!” Ruby was grinning, “Then Professor Ozpin brought me some cookies and invited me to come to Beacon two years early! All because I stopped a dust robbery and captured the goons!” Her face dropped a little, “...Well, other than that Torchwick guy, he got away cos he had some help from a weird lady that shot fireballs and fought with Professor Goodwitch, but we managed to get him eventually! Eventually...Ha ha...” Ruby’s laugh was less than happy.

Weiss walked over and flicked Ruby in the forehead, “Quit moping. If he had help from someone who fought Professor Goodwitch and _still_ got away, then you were lucky she turned up at all! You might not have got away with barely any scratches if she hadn’t been there.”

Ruby looked up and saw Penny nodding along too. “Mr Ironwood says that Professor Goodwitch is very strong, so if someone fought her and got away, then they must very strong too! Do not feel down if you couldn’t capture someone who got away from her!” Penny smiled at Ruby, who felt quite a bit better.

“Besides,” Weiss continued, standing beside Penny, arms crossed as she looked at Ruby, “If we hadn’t gone to Mountain Glenn and found the train then we wouldn’t have been able to help capture him. So, you did capture him.” Weiss have a short nod at the end, clearly considering her words the final point.

“Thanks you two, that does make me feel better.” Ruby smiled at the pair, her thoughts turning to how lucky she was to have such good friends like. “Ok! No more moping! Let’s finish this tour then grab a coffee!”

Ruby seemed back to her normal bouncy self as the finished the tour, the last place taking in one of Vale’s biggest squares. There was a large fountain in the middle, the water spurting from the top sparkling in the air. Various grass verges intermingled with paving stones to create a mosaic that was almost visible from the ground but gave a gorgeous view of waves and mountains from the air. Around the edge of the square were several open fronted shops and cafes, and, once Penny had finished looking at the square and fountain in amazement, they headed to one of the cafes near the fountain.

Weiss ordered her usual coffee, strong with milk and sugar on the side, Ruby went for a hot chocolate overloaded with marshmallows and whipped cream, and Penny stood there, thinking and looking at the board. Ruby suddenly remembered something and leaned into Penny to whisper, “Are you okay to have coffee? You know...with the whole...beep boop aspect?”

Penny giggled before replying, “I can have food and drinks, but I have never tried coffee before.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow behind their backs, having stood aside to let them order, _‘Can have food and drinks?’ That’s a really weird thing to say, although Penny_ is _pretty weird herself._

“Never had coffee before? Well fortunately you have a coffee conas...connis...expert here in Weiss!” Ruby struggled with the right word before changing it and making a grand gesture of indicating Weiss, who rolled her eyes a little, but with a smirk that bordered on fondness. 

“If you’ve never tried coffee before, I’d recommend getting either a flat white, as it’s the most basic, or a black coffee so you can add as much milk and sugar as you would like to it so it fits your taste. Either one is...um...a good starting point.” Penny was paying rapt attention to Weiss’ every word, eyes focused on her face, which turned slightly pink in the cheeks as Penny continued to stare.

Weiss found it a little intimidating if she was honest with herself, the fact that Penny was clearly very focused on exactly what she was saying. The girl was as excitable as Ruby at times, although they both could clearly focus on something. Ruby might take longer, and it not be as obvious, but put her in front of a workbench and give her a project and she’d zone the world out. A Grimm could break in and she probably wouldn’t notice. Penny’s focus seemed to be more of a laser focus with all of her attention zeroed in.

Penny nodded, “Thank you for the advice Weiss! I will go for a black coffee, and then do several taste tests to find the combination that is most pleasing.” She ordered hers and asked for several milk and sugar on the side. Weiss dropped her card on the machine to pay, right as Ruby was starting to get some lien out of her pouch.

“You can owe me for this later Ruby. Penny, you don’t have to pay me back, consider this a treat at the end of the Vale section of the tour.”

“Ooooo nice Weiss is here!” Ruby grinned and followed Weiss to the end of the counter, only to grab her forehead in pain when Weiss spun and flicked it without warning. “Ow!” Penny couldn’t help but giggle at the pair, and Ruby was smiling when she looked at them both, “Go find a table, I’ll bring the drinks over!”

“No, you will not!” Weiss crossed her arms and gave Ruby a hard stare, “You may be a prodigy on the battlefield, and when fighting Grimm, but you can still be an absolute klutz when you don’t have a weapon in your hands. Go sit with Penny and _I’ll_ bring the drinks over.”

Ruby went to protest for a moment but changed her mind, looked down, and nodded before walking away with Penny in tow to find a table near a window looking out at the square. Weiss felt slightly guilty at seeing Ruby, who almost looked like a scolded puppy, walk away. Grumbling to herself at how weak willed she was around her partner, she picked up one of the cookies and paid for it quickly. She put it down on the tray and carried it over to the red and green pair, sliding it down and handing the drinks out, before relaxing into the remaining comfy armchair that was around the low table.

Ruby looked at the bagged cookie, then at Weiss, a gleam in her eyes. Weiss smiled softly and indicated with a slight incline of her head that Ruby could have it. Penny laughed as Ruby almost inhaled the cookie she ate it that fast. Even Weiss couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly the cookie vanished, and soon Ruby was laughing along with them, the three girls caught up in giggles for a minute or so before they stopped laughing and focused more on their drinks.

Penny bent over her coffee and gave it a slight sip before looking slightly confused. “I think this is slightly bitter? I know I can add sugar to help, but what will the milk do?”

“Adding milk will make the coffee a little thicker and can reduce the bitterness a little. Adding sugar will make it a bit sweeter, but you’d need to add the sugar first.” Weiss was stirring her drink with a small spoon, “Adding the milk first means it takes longer to mix the sugar in. You also run the risk of having a mound of sugar left at the bottom if you put in as much as this heathen here.” Weiss flicked her thumb to point at Ruby, who scratched the back of her head and giggled.

Penny spent the next minute or so adding small amounts of sugar, stirring, taking a sip, thinking for a moment, and then repeating. After three small spoonful’s of sugar, she smiled, and then added a small amount of milk, stirring, and taking a sip. “This is the best one for me.” She gave Weiss a huge smile, “Thank you for your advice Weiss! I really enjoy this drink.” Taking a larger drink, Penny leaned back into the chair a little, slightly emulating Ruby who had sunk low into the comfy armchair.

The three sat there in comfortable silence for a little while, each happy to drink their drinks in the pleasant company of the others. Ruby finished hers last, taking a final long drain, lifting the mug up to down the dregs, putting it down with a soft “Ah.” Weiss gave her a look and even Penny was looking at her slightly weirdly. “What?” Ruby turned to look at them each, and Weiss’ eye twitched as she fought to keep a straight face. “What is it?” Ruby looked over her left shoulder, and then her right, before facing the other two.

Penny tried to hold back her smile whilst Weiss quickly pulled her scroll out and took a picture. Ruby then pulled a quick pose that made Penny struggle to hold her giggles back even more, whilst Weiss took another photo, her face only just remaining straight. “You’ve got something on your face,” once Ruby stopped posing, she reached over with a napkin and wiped the entirety of Ruby’s mouth, “That’s better.”

“So why did you take photos?” Ruby looked at Weiss, who smirked and turned the phone around. Ruby gasped and leaned back with a look of hurt and betrayal on her face, as the photo showed her pulling a pose with a massive moustache made of milk foam covering her top lip.

Weiss started giggling out loud, trying to cover her mouth, but quickly closing her eyes and giving into full on laughter, which set Penny off, and then Ruby, the three of them laughing that they couldn’t stop for quite a while. Eventually the laughter dried up and Weiss wiped a small tear away, smiling warmly at the two girls. “I haven’t laughed like that in such a long time, especially over something so small and silly. Thank you.”

Having finished their drinks, the three girls headed up to Beacon Academy in time for lunch and then to finish the tour off. Penny got very excited with the workshop for weapons, Ruby’s excitement was clearly contagious to Penny, and maybe even Weiss, as even she was smiling more than usual. Ruby laughed as she told Penny about the food fight, they’d had a few months prior, and Weiss blushed when Ruby pointed out she’d used a swordfish. “Y-y-You were the one who went all action hero when I got hit into the pillar! Diving to catch me yelling ‘Weiss! Noooooo!’” Ruby laughed as Weiss blushed and overacted, making a fake swooning motion that had Penny laughing along too.

They finally reached the dorm room, which the two partners had saved until last. “Wow! So, this is where you both sleep? I am curious about the stability and survivability of the bed hanging from ropes.” Penny looked at the ropes holding the dangling bunk bed up.

“Believe me, so am I.” Weiss muttered under her breath, earning a soft shove in her shoulder from Ruby.

There was a loud beeping noise and Penny jumped before pulling a scroll out and putting it to her ear. “Hello? Oh! Mr Ironwood sir! Yes, I was just being given a tour of Beacon and Vale by Ruby and Weiss...No sir, they’ve been very helpful and informative...Yes sir, I will do.” She looked a bit dejected as she hung up and turned to the two girls, both of whom had tried to avoid listening in, but as Penny spoke in quite a loud voice, it was difficult not to.

“What’s wrong Penny?” Ruby’s voice was full of concern, and it showed through into her face.

“I have to go now. Mr Ironwood didn’t want me staying out too late, so I have to go back to where I’m staying now.” Penny’s voice matched the emotions in her face, sad and disappointed that their time had been cut short.

“Oh. That...that is unfortunate.” Weiss wasn’t happy about it either, she had enjoyed spending time with the ginger girl.

“Don’t worry though friends, I’m sure we can spend time together again!” Penny threw her arm up in a salute that lightly tapped her forehead.

“Yeah! We’d love that, wouldn’t we Weiss?” Ruby grinned and turned to Weiss.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” Weiss crossed her arms and avoided looking at either of the two, looking at the nails on one of her hands instead. Penny grinned and gave Weiss a big hug, which she resisted as the ginger girl lifted her off the floor, much to Weiss’ surprise. _She is_ strong. _But her arms feel strange, they’re warm, but not very soft at all, even through her dress sleeves. Wait, why am I thinking about her arms?!_

By the time her brain had caught up with what was happening, Weiss had been put down and Ruby was being hugged. As Ruby was put down Weiss heard her whisper to Penny, “That was much gentler! You’ve gotten better at hugging!” Penny grinned in response and then headed for the door.

“Thank you for a brilliant day! I will make sure we can spend more time together if that’s okay with you both! Bye friends!” She headed out the door and Ruby sidled up next to Weiss.

“Soooooooo...I see _some_ body didn’t push Penny away when she came in for a hug.” Ruby was smirking and flicked her eyebrows at Weiss.

Weiss rolled her eyes, “I’ll admit I was a little worried about spending time with both of you, as she...is different.”

“Different? Errr what do you mean? Different how?” Ruby did a quick panic and shot backwards from Weiss waving her hands.

“What’s with that reaction?” Weiss shook her head, “I mean she’s quite similar to you in some ways, so I wasn’t sure I could handle spending an entire day with you and her, but...I think I actually quite like her.” She had a soft smile on her face and was looking at the door as she said it.

Ruby looked at her face, taking in the sapphire blue eyes, the carefully done makeup to appear invisible, and the faint scar that went through her eye, and smiled. “Yeah, I do too.”


	2. Day 2 Atlas Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny goes back to Mantle for a routine checkup and has a video call with Weiss and Ruby in the evening.

Penny landed in the lamplit street just outside her father’s workshop and tapped lightly on the door. She could hear the clicks of her father’s chair as he walked to the door, opened it, and she was greeted with a grin that held immense love and softness in it upon seeing his daughter. “Darling! You made it early, welcome back home.” His smile only grew as Penny leaned forwards on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him gently so as not to hurt, but giving enough pressure so he felt the love she had for him. His chair backed up to let her enter, and she followed him into the office workspace he kept on Mantle, feeling the same warmth and homeliness she always did. The old bookshelves and yellowed sketched drawings filled the walls, a stark difference to the tech heavy world of Atlas above, and the workbench and computer that sat on his wooden desk.

She sat up on the workbench, her legs swinging slightly below her as Pietro trotted around the workspace, turning various holo screens on and grabbing a thick black cable. Penny undid her collar and slipped it off her neck, bending her head forward slightly. Once behind her, Pietro gently pressed his finger to a circular section on the back of his daughter’s neck and there was a very faint hiss as the circular panel broke into four sections and slid away, leaving a socket for the cable to be plugged into. When he plugged it in Penny’s eyes fluttered rapidly and the holo screens around them flickered into life, displaying various read outs.

Pietro let his eyes roam over them all, drinking the various bits of information in. Noticing a folder saved in Penny’s memory bank he adjusted his glasses and moved his chair closer for a better look. “Penny my dear, what’s this folder here?” He indicated the folder and tapped on the screen opening it to reveal a large collection of photos and a few videos. His eyes roamed across them all, before he tapped on one of the videos. Instantly the sound of laughter filled the air, the video showing two girls nearly doubled over in laughter, and it was quite a shaky video as it was clear some of the laughter was coming from the person who had recorded the video. Pietro turned his chair to look at Penny, who had slightly averted her eyes, a faint pink slowly appearing on her cheeks behind the freckles. “Penny?” A sense of wonder was creeping into his voice, his mind whirling with hints and possibilities that he dared not voice.

“Yes Father?” Penny looked up and met his eyes, the blush having vanished, leaving Pietro almost doubting he’d seen it.

“Who are these two girls? This entire folder is full of photos of them.”

“They are my two friends! Friend Ruby and Friend Weiss! I am _very_ fond of them both. I really like seeing them smile so I made sure to save many images of them in my memory bank.” She nodded at the end of it, and then tilted her head slightly. “Did…did I do something wrong?”

Pietro chuckled deeply, “No my dear, no, you’ve done nothing wrong at all.” His thoughts raced faster than ever before. “Do you enjoy spending time with them? There’s several different dates on these photos.”

Penny’s voice was exuberant as she replied, “Oh yes Father! It’s been the highlight of my stay in Beacon so far. Oh! I promised I would message them when I arrived to let them know I was safe.”

Pietro chuckled, “You can do that when we sit down in a little bit, but onto other matters, how have you been feeling? Any issues at all?”

“No, everything has been working perfectly Father.” Penny smiled at him and Pietro returned it. Finishing up the check he removed the cable and turned the majority of the holo screens off, holding his hand out as he waited for Penny to finishing doing her collar back up. She took his hand and hopped off the table, holding it as they headed to the more comfortable lounge further into the building. Penny headed towards the small kitchenette and made a large, scaldingly hot drink of tea for her father, as well as a small cup of coffee for herself. Placing the drinks on the little table that stood between the sofa and Pietro’s chair, she sat down on the sofa and took a sip of her coffee.

Pietro raised an eyebrow slightly at the drink, making another mental note to add to the several new revelations he had learnt about his daughter so far that evening. Penny pulled her scroll out and opened the little group chat she had with Ruby and Weiss.

**Pennster: Hello Friends! I have made it safely to my Father’s workshop.**

Ruby’s reply, like the girl herself, was almost instant.

**Speedy: PENNY!!**

**Speedy: hi :)**

**Weissicle: Hello Penny, I’m glad to hear you made it back to Atlas safely. How was the flight?**

**Pennster: The flight was quite long but I enjoyed looking out of the windows. I like seeing the clouds from above.**

**Speedy: are we still good to have that video call? i wanna see your bedroom!**

**Weissicle: Ruby don’t be rude! Let Penny at least spend some time with her Father.**

**Speedy: sorry Penny :(**

**Pennster: I was going to ask to watch a movie with him, but we can video call tomorrow evening! I would like that very much!**

**Ruby: ok will do! enjoy being with your dad tonight and say hi from us!!**

**Weissicle: Yes, enjoy the evening with your family, I’ll make sure Ruby actually does her homework…**

**Speedy: Weiss noooooooo…………**

**Speedy: hehe bye Penny!**

**Pennster: Thank you Friends!**

Putting her scroll away Penny saw her father observing her with another of his soft smiles, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Father?”

“It’s good to see you’ve made friends my dear, I could see how they made you smile even in that short time just now. I…I’m just a bit worried about how they’ll react if they find out about you. I don’t want you to get hurt.” His voice was soft and full of love and care. 

Penny wrapped both her hands around one of his, squeezing ever so gently so as to not hurt him. “I know you don’t Father, but you don’t have to worry!” Penny’s smile was very wide, “Ruby and Weiss would never hurt me.”

“I believe you think so little one, but some people don’t react well to things being hidden from them. Especially something this big.” He patted Penny’s hand comfortingly before turning to the large screen on the wall, “Now, what about this movie you said you wanted to watch with me? Pinocchio?”

By the end of the movie Penny could see Pietro’s eyes were starting to flag a little, and so she helped him through to his bedroom, kissed him goodnight on the cheek, and let him get himself ready for bed with the various robotic hoists he’d developed. Penny went through to her little room and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before bringing a memory of Ruby and Weiss smiling at her, and letting herself turn to sleep.

The next evening, after being introduced to her partner for the tournament, Ciel Soleil, someone she found interesting from the beret and obsession with timeliness, as well as her other two teammates, she headed back to Pietro’s workshop. She had to jump to one side as a little boy came sprinting out whooping with joy, a freshly made prosthetic leg shining in the evening glow, his father following with tears in his eyes. She smiled at her father and gave him a quick hug, Pietro had always wanted to help those he could, and regularly made simple prosthetics for those in Mantle who had need.

After a quick chat with him about their respective days as he ate his dinner, Penny headed back to her little bedroom so she could video call Ruby and Weiss.

“Penny! Hi, it’s so good to see you!” Ruby was grinning and waving madly.

“Good evening Penny.” Whilst Weiss’ greeting wasn’t as enthusiastic as Ruby’s was, the soft smile she had betrayed her happiness at seeing their friend.

“Sal-u-tations Friends! I’m very happy to see you both.” Penny had set her scroll up on her little desk on one side of the room so that the other two could see into the bedroom.

“We’re really happy to see you too! Weiss was getting a little angsty waiting for the call.”

“W-W-what! No, I wasn’t!” A pink blush came onto Weiss’ cheeks as she denied it, and gave Ruby a quick shove on the shoulder, “You were the one bouncing up and down asking if we could call her! Yang and Blake got annoyed with how excited you were and went to go spar whilst we called.”

Ruby giggled and rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah, I might have been pretty excited, but Weiss was too!”

“Tch.” Weiss crossed her arms and turned away from Ruby slightly, but the pink shade didn’t fade.

“Don’t feel embarrassed to admit it Weiss, I was excited to have a video call with the both of you too!” Penny’s wide smile made Weiss and Ruby both give each other a quick glance before smiling back at Penny. “Oh! I promised to show you my room. It’s not very decorated, as I spend most of my time in Atlas at the academy, but this is where I go to sleep when I stay with my Father in Mantle.” Moving out of the way, she showed the other two the sparsely decorated room, a window to one side, a single bed with a bedside table, desk and a chair, and a full bookcase near the door.

What Penny had forgotten to move, and that the three girls all noticed at the same time, was a long cable that was resting on the bedside table, one that was clearly not for charging anything small.

“What’s that cable for?” Weiss’ voice was full of suspicion and Penny started to stammer but Weiss cut her off, “Penny what aren’t you telling us? There’s something strange going on.”

“What? No! There’s nothing strange going on, I’m sure the cable is just for charging something…like her weapon! Yeah, it’s for charging her weapon, right Penny?” Ruby’s voice was unsure, and a little bit panicked as well.

“No, no it’s not. You know what it is as well don’t you?” Weiss interjected and her eyes narrowed as she stared daggers at Ruby.

“Umm…err…” Ruby glanced around quickly and looked pleadingly at Penny for help.

Penny looked at Weiss who was alternating her glares between Ruby and Penny, “Fine. Don’t tell me then, but if you’re going to keep secrets from me and exclude me, then don’t bother to include me in anything at all from now on.” Weiss sighed and looked sadly at Ruby, and the betrayal could be heard in her soft voice, “I’m disappointed in you, especially after what happened with Blake.” She got up and started to move but Penny called out to her.

“Weiss! Please wait. It’s not Ruby, it’s me.” Weiss stopped and turned to look at Penny.

Penny looked at Ruby who nodded, “You can trust her.”

“Umm, I can explain, but you need to promise that you’re my friend ok? I need you to promise that you’re my friend and that won’t change!” The desperation could be heard in Penny’s voice.

“I promise I’m your friend Penny. Please just tell me what’s going on, I don’t understand.”

“I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone okay? Promise you won’t tell anyone? It has to be kept a secret!”

“I promise.”

Penny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She might not have needed to breathe, but she’d seen people do it before saying something important so hoped it might help with her. “I’m…I’m…I’m not a real girl. I’m a synthetic android with an aura.” Penny looked down, too scared to look at Weiss directly for what she might see on the other girl’s face. 

“You’re an android with an aura?” Penny could hear that Weiss found it very strange and she couldn’t blame her. “Ok. And that changes things how?”

Penny looked up, highly confused, “What do you mean?”

“So, you’re an android with an aura, why does that change anything? You feel things, don’t you?” Weiss waited for Penny to nod slowly in reply before continuing, “Then you’re still a person as far as I’m concerned. You’re not like the Atlas robots in the military, they don’t have individual thoughts or feelings. You do. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re still a person, and you’re still my friend.”

“Oh, Weiss that’s wonderful! I knew you were a good person! You two are the best friends I could ever hope for!”

Ruby and Weiss both blushed a little at the compliment, and Weiss replied to Penny, “I take it you also made Ruby promise not to tell anyone either,” She turned to her partner, “Which is why you didn’t tell me?”

Ruby chuckled nervously, “Yeah, I didn’t want to break my promise to her, but I’m glad you know now!”

The three talked for a while longer before Ruby tried and failed to hide a particularly large yawn, and they said goodbye to Penny. Weiss was just climbing into her bed when her scroll lit up with a message just to her from Penny.

**Penny: Thank you for being so accepting Weiss, I was really worried that you’d react badly, I really like you and Ruby and want to keep being your friend.**

**Weiss: Like I said Penny, you’re still a person to me, and I know that dolt would think the exact same as me. Don’t worry about what we think, you’re fine just the way you are.**


	3. Day 3 Glyphs/Silver Eyes/Maiden Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 and it's time for the Glyphs, Silver Eyes or Maiden powers. I've gone with glyphs and focusing on Weiss, it gets a little bit angsty though, but only a little.

Ruby could see Weiss’ hands shaking a little as she paced, and Ruby swung her arms back and forth as she bounced on her toes, waiting for third of their trip to arrive. A moment or two later, Penny skipped over and saluted in greeting, bringing a small smile to Weiss’ face briefly before it vanished again, and continued pacing, muttering to herself.

“Salutations Friends!”

“Hi Penny! How’re you?” Ruby smiled warmly at the second of her closest friends.

“I’m doing wonderful today!” Penny’s smile was just as wide, although it shrank a little seeing Weiss pacing back and forth. “What seems to be the problem Weiss?”

“My sister is coming to visit soon, and she wants to see a demonstration of how far I’ve got with my summoning skills.” Weiss answered without looking up, continuing to pace back and forth.

“Your sister?!”

“Special Operative Schnee?”

Ruby and Penny replied at the same time, and Penny’s response was enough of a surprise for Weiss that she stopped pacing to stare at Penny. “You know Winter?”

Penny nodded, “Yes! Whilst I would not say we are friends just yet; I hope we will be friends soon.”

Weiss cast her eyes to one side slightly, “Does...does Winter ever say anything about me?” Her voice was quiet, almost as if she was afraid of asking.

Penny thought for a moment, then did a mini jump and her eyes lit up, “Yes, she has done! She asked me how you were faring when I last saw her. I said you were doing well, had made friends, and I viewed you as one of my best friends! I think she was happy with that?” Penny tilted her head slightly, “She gave a very small smile, nodded, and then walked off. I don’t think she was unhappy at least!”

Weiss looked thoughtful, and Ruby was just looking between them both, “Wait! You have a sister?! Is she older or younger? What’s she like? Is she like you? Or not like you?”

Weiss snapped out of her slight reverie to interrupt Ruby’s rapid-fire questions, “Yes, I have an older sister and she’s in the Atlas military. Can you just stop with the questions? I thought you two were going to help me with my summoning, not quiz me on my family.” Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby who looked away and scratched the back of her neck, a nervous tic that Weiss noticed she’d picked up from her elder sister.

“Sorry Weiss, I just want to know as much about you as I can.”

Weiss softened quickly, “I’m sorry I snapped at you...I...I’m not very good at summoning. I’ve mastered pretty much all aspects of my semblance _other_ than summoning. It’s something that Winter never fails to pick me up on, saying I need to work on it more and put more effort into.” She sighed and looked down.

“And that’s why we’re here! We’re here for your moral support, we’re morally ready!” Penny’s words lightened the mood, Ruby nodding and grinning at her side.

Weiss managed to at least bring her expression back to neutral but kept her mouth in a tight line. She drew Myrtenaster from the loop on her belt and took her stance. Penny and Ruby stood back to give her space, and Weiss flicked her rapier slightly, and concentrated, a large spinning glyph appearing on the ground. Ruby stared at it, taking time to see what it looked like; It was similar to her other glyphs, however different at the same time. Instead of the whole glyph being a snowflake, half of the spikes were swords, and it had a small snowflake at the centre, circles and other spikes surrounding it. _It’s quite similar to Weiss,_ Ruby thought to herself, _Spiky, but beautiful. Although it is missing the nice, warm bit at the centre that Weiss has once you get to know her._

Weiss let out a groan as the glyph flickered and vanished, breaking Ruby’s thoughts on her partner. “It’s okay Friend Weiss! Try again!” Penny called out to Weiss, her voice supportive. The white-haired girl nodded and flicked her sword again, calling the glyph forth. It lasted even less time than before, flickering out of existence quite quickly, causing a frustrated cry to sneak out of Weiss’ mouth.

She went to throw her weapon, but changed her mind at the last second, collapsing to her knees and just holding it in front of her with both hands. Weiss stared at it, her Father’s words ringing through her head ‘ _You will never amount to anything as a Huntress, so don’t even bother. Your barbaric semblance is useless outside of battle, which you will never engage in whilst running my company anyway. Your older sister betrayed us, do not make the same mistake as her. You don’t have an ounce of what that infuriating General called “_ Talent” _so it’s far better for you to just give up_.’

Weiss felt a soft and warm pressure against the small of her back, the pressure gently rubbing circles creating a soothing feeling. A similar comforting pressure was on the outside of her right hand as she held Myrtenaster’s blade. She looked to her left and right, seeing Ruby kneeling next to her, one arm behind Weiss’ back, responsible for the soothing circles. Penny was on her other side, gently holding Weiss’ hand under the blade. Weiss shifted her hand slightly, and Penny wrapped both of her hands around it, smiling gently at Weiss. Ruby, very tentatively, touched Weiss’ knee with her other hand, causing Weiss to look at the hand and then Ruby.

“Ah, sorry!” Ruby withdrew the hand quickly, “Thought it might help with comforting you.”

Weiss nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper, “It’s okay, it did.” Ruby’s eyes were such a beautiful silver, Weiss wasn’t sure she’d ever noticed it before. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Ruby gently put her hand back on Weiss’ knee, moving her thumb to rub Weiss’ kneecap through her tights. “Why not?”

“Summoning is the pinnacle of our semblance; you can call on creatures you’ve defeated in the past to aid you in your fights. But they have to be ones that helped you move on from who you were.”

Penny was still giving Weiss a small smile, “You’re absolutely incredible Weiss. You’re so good at controlling your semblance, this is just another part of it. You _can_ do this.”

Ruby looked at Weiss’ face, staring at her eyes, “We’re here to help you Weiss. Every enemy you beat shapes who you are in some way, so think of the ones that have had the biggest impact. You can do this.”

Weiss looked at the two girls in turn, each of them holding a similar expression to each other, a soft look that screamed they believed in her and the words they had said to her. Slowly, Weiss got to her feet, Penny giving her hand a small squeeze before walking back to just behind Weiss, Ruby joining her. Weiss closed her eyes, bringing an image of the glyph she needed to the forefront of her mind and, with a flick of her wrist, casting it onto the ground in front of her. 

Keeping her eyes closed, she focused of pouring aura into the glyph, thinking of all the enemies she had beaten that had changed her. The Beowolves her sister had sent at her in a training situation, making her improve her glyphs and the speed she did them. The giant knight created from a Geist that her Father and his team of scientists had forced it to bond with, in an attempt to stop her from going to Beacon. That had been the one that had changed her the most, the scar over her eye being a grim reminder of the battle.

_The giant suit of armour is the best one to go with._ Weiss was starting to focus on it, bringing the image of the towering monster to the front of her brain, before a small memory wormed its way into her thoughts. One of her holding a cup of coffee out for Ruby late at night, having decided to support her team leader and be the best teammate she could be, instead of constantly undermining her and being, no other word it, a spoilt brat.

She felt a rush of energy and then felt the glyph vanish. Still with her eyes closed, she lowered Myrtenaster slightly, she’d failed again. Maybe her Father was right, maybe she didn’t possess the talent needed to become a Huntress? Maybe she should go back to Atlas…But did she want to go?

There was a loud whooping, cheering, and some clapping behind her that shocked her out of the spiral downwards. She opened her eyes and then immediately narrowed them. Where her glyph had been spinning _was_ a summon. She had actually managed to summon something, hence the support from her friends behind her. Ruby and Penny came sprinting up to stand on each side of her, and as they bent down to see the summon better, Weiss looked it over. 

The four eyes were a silvery white colour, icy blue behind it all, and they glowed, the lines on its skull matching the colour of the eyes, and although the actual bony structure of the skull didn’t glow with the same intensity and was a little duller, it still shone. A small pair of fangs looked sharp and pointed, jutting out from underneath it’s upper jaw to hang downwards over the lower jaw, and a small spout of steam puffed out of its mouth. It’s back was covered in small plates of bone, varying in size but matching symmetrically, and the two large curling tusks that almost reached its forehead looked as strong and dangerous as the original’s had been. Without warning, it squealed loudly, jumped in the air, and span rapidly, creating a rotating wheel, tusks and bony plates making a sharp edge that shot towards Ruby.

“Oh my Dust it is _SO_ cute!” Ruby exclaimed as the summon smashed into the tip of her boot and bounced backwards. Weiss rolled her eyes and bent down, opening the palm of her hand and the Boarbatusk trotted onto it, four eyes glaring out at Ruby and Penny as they crowded round Weiss and her hand. The summoned Boarbatusk was constantly giving out a high-pitched squeal of pure rage that would have been terrifying, if not for the fact the summoned Grimm was barely four inches long.

“You did it Friend Weiss! You successfully summoned something!” Penny was bouncing on her toes in excitement, something Weiss wasn’t sure whether it was natural, or something she’d picked up from the excitable third member of their trio.

“I…I guess I did, didn’t I?” Weiss seemed unsure.

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss, giving her a tight squeeze from the left side, “Yes, you did. When I first discovered my semblance, I could barely go a few feet before I’d have to stop. Think about how far can I go now though? You’ve summoned something for the first time! You just need to practice it, and then you’re bound to improve! I’m so proud of you!”

Penny squeezed Weiss from the other side, a little more forcefully than Ruby had, and Weiss’ was sure she felt her ribs creak and crack as the android hugged her. “Friend Ruby is right! I’m proud of you as well! And more practice will help, and we will help you to practice as much as we can, because that’s what friends do!”

Weiss, once Penny and Ruby had relaxed their death grips on her and she felt she could breathe again, thought it over. She had summoned something, and whilst she didn’t think she could withstand the embarrassment of showing it to Winter, her two closest friends hadn’t cared about how small it was, just that she’d succeeded. She allowed herself a grin that stretched her mouth and lips. “Yes, it is. And you two definitely helped me today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came to me because I was looking through photos of cute but incredibly angry animals (a bunny and owl spring to mind from tumblr posts) and just thought it would be hilarious to have Weiss summon a very very tiny, but incredibly angry boarbatusk that Penny and Ruby found adorable.


	4. Day 4 Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 Family/Meeting the Parents. Taiyang Xiao Long turns up for parent's day, and Jacques Schnee is due to arrive as well.

“Dad!” Ruby yelled out and burst into petals as she sped towards the blonde man standing in the courtyard, swooping past other parents before slamming into him. He laughed out loud and spun her round, hugging her tightly as he did so.

“Hey kiddo! How you doing?” Putting her down he ruffled her hair and grinned, then raised a hand to give Yang a high five as she finally arrived, before pulling her into a hug. She hugged him deeply in return, glad to see him again.

“I’m doing great thanks.” Yang smiled up at him slightly, as he stood just a couple of inches taller than her. “Although…” She stepped back to look him up and down, “…pretty embarrassed to be seen with a man wearing cargo shorts.”

“Hey! These are the height of cool fashion you know!”

“Yeaaaah…no. Just no.”

“So…before you two get talking about fashion, shall we go?” Ruby interjected before they got started. They all walked back to the dorm room, their father questioning them on how their time at Beacon had gone so far, Ruby talking like a machine gun as she tried to tell him anything and everything that she could. By the time they reached the dorm room their father was sufficiently caught up on everything that had happened in the last term.

They opened the door, Yang throwing her arms wide dramatically, “And here we are!” Blake looked up from the book she was reading and rolled her eyes at the dramatics.

Ruby went over to stand next to Weiss who was staring at her scroll as if it had personally insulted her. “Hey,” she nudged Weiss’ shoulder, and it showed how much more relaxed Weiss had become that she didn’t immediately slap at Ruby or moan at her. “What’s up?” She could hear her father being introduced to Blake in the background, but her immediate concern was Weiss.

“My father. Apparently, he’s decided to grace us with his presence today.” Ruby had rarely heard Weiss mention her father, and she knew it was a sore subject.

“I take it that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes. _Very_.”

“Oh.” Ruby and Weiss were silent for a minute, “Can I ask why?”

“Because he’s an awful person who should never have been allowed to procreate.”

“Hey now, don’t be so harsh, if your dad had never been allowed to have kids then you wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t be my little girl’s buff!” Ruby and Yang’s father had appeared, and he leaned over to Ruby to whisper in a loud voice, “That’s the term, right? Buff?”

“Eh, close enough.”

Weiss jumped with surprise and got to her feet quickly, holding her hand out. “Pleased to meet you sir, I’m Weiss Schnee.”

He met her hand and shook it firmly, “Nice to meet you too, Taiyang Xiao Long, and please, no sirs or Mr Xiao Longs or anything like that, just stick to Tai. The rest makes me feel like an old man.” He shuddered as if the thought repulsed him. “I won’t be an old man until this beautiful head of hair turns completely grey.”

“That’ll be a _hair_ -raising experience won’t it?” Yang chuckled from behind Tai and Weiss rolled her eyes. Tai meanwhile smirked and didn’t turn to face his older daughter.

“Yeah, it’ll be a _perm_ -anent change.”

Weiss paled slightly and whispered, “Oh no. There are two of them.”

“Don’t worry Weiss, all’s _hair_ in love and war.” Tai grinned widely and Weiss put her face in her hands.

A loud knock on the door distracted Weiss who looked up happily as the interruption. “Oh, _shaved_ by the door there Weiss.” Weiss gave Yang a death glare as she headed to answer it.

“Salutations Weiss! I made it without the guards.” Penny saluted and Weiss didn’t stop her face from smiling at seeing Penny, not that she was sure she could anyway. She’d rarely smiled during the first few weeks at Beacon, but since deciding to accept Ruby as their team leader and getting to know Penny much better, it was starting to happen a lot more. Mostly when she was around either Ruby or Penny.

Weiss leaned into the hall and as Penny had said, didn’t see either of Penny’s usual guards, or indeed any guards. “Penny, where are your guards? You know General Ironwood is starting to get desperate.”

“I lost them in the crowd of parents outside.” She smiled widely, clearly pleased with herself.

Weiss was silent until a loud laugh came from behind her, “I like this one, she seems great fun!” He moved to stand beside Weiss, “Taiyang Xiao Long. Please, call me Tai.”

“Salutations Tai, I’m Penny Polendina.” She shook his hand and Ruby noticed him wince slightly at Penny’s grip but other than that made no outward recognition of how strong she was. “Oh! You’re Ruby and Yang’s father!”

“I am indeed, and I’ve heard about you as well, you and Weiss are Ruby’s closest friends.” Weiss and Penny both looked to Ruby quickly who smiled at them.

“So you know embarrassing stories about Ruby as a child? That is something you do when you meet family of your close friends right?” Penny’s smile was innocent, but Ruby could see the evil grin on Tai’s face so immediately shot over to them.

“Okaytimetogonowlet’sgoimmediately!” She grabbed Weiss and Penny’s hands and started to pull them into the corridor.

“We’ll see you later for dinner, don’t worry, I’ll save some stories until then!” Tai waved at their retreating backs smirking.

Reaching the courtyard where they had practiced Weiss’ summoning, Ruby finally let go of their hands. Weiss felt a pang of disappointment as the warmth left her hand.

“Why did you not let your father tell us embarrassing stories about you?” Penny seemed disappointed and Ruby squirmed a little.

“Because they’re embarrassing…besides, I’d want you to hear them from me not my dad.”

Weiss scroll beeped and she looked down at it, seeing the message pop up.

‘I will be arriving in approximately fifteen minutes. Meet me at the airship dock. Do not be late.’

“Oh, _shit_.” Penny and Ruby both turned to Weiss, their discussion about Ruby’s embarrassing stories forgotten instantly at hearing Weiss swear.

“Weiss? What’s wrong?”

“My father is arriving at the dock in fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes? But the dock is on the other side of…oh no.”

Weiss took off running, swearing under her breath about her heels. She was fine to fight in them but running for a long time was different matter. Within moments of leaving the two girls behind, she felt strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and felt herself speed up, the scenery of Beacon flashing past in a blur. Weiss closed her eyes as she wasn’t used to travelling at this speed, this close to what she was passing by, and only opened them again when she felt the speed slow down and her feet touch the ground gently, the strong arms now resting gently on her hips.

“You ok Weiss?” Weiss opened her eyes and found Ruby _very_ close to her, and they were standing in a hallway just before the main entranceway and airship dock.

Weiss looked at Ruby’s silver eyes for a long moment, taking in each part of it, the eyelashes, which were quite short, the gradient and different shades of silver that swirled around, not something she had noticed from a further distance away, but now she was close enough found oddly beautiful.

“Weiss? I’m sorry I didn’t ask but you seemed really worried about getting to the dock on time.”

“What?” Weiss shook her head and stepped back away from Ruby slightly, her fingers lingering on Weiss’ hips for a moment longer that neither of them noticed.

“I used my semblance on you so that you’d get here on time, you’ve got ten minutes to get to the dock, so if we walk quickly, we should make it. If…if you’re okay with me coming with you.”

“Oh. Thank you for that.” Weiss started walking and Ruby followed right next to her. “You’re welcome to come with, but my father can be…difficult to handle.”

“Worse than you used to be?” Ruby smirked at Weiss, who didn’t smile in return.

“Worse.”

“Oh.”

They walked in silence until they reached the dock and the landing bays.

They stood in silence for a moment before Weiss asked, “Where’s Penny?”

“She’s coming, just a lot slower. I can’t carry her very far, and you needed to get here quickly. She said she’ll catch up, but that getting you here was the most important thing.” Ruby shrugged.

Weiss nodded and they went back to waiting, her arms clasped behind her back keeping it straight as she waited. Five minutes passed, and Weiss checked the time on her scroll. He was late. _Well he did say approximately…_

Five more minutes passed. And then another five minutes. By the time Penny caught up with them he was twenty minutes late and Weiss knew it inside, even if she didn’t say it.

“Weiss?” Penny had walked up next to her and reached out, gently touching Weiss’ hands, and she loosened them, letting Penny slide her hand into hers and gently grip it, letting the warmth flow into it. Ruby came up on Weiss’ other side and held her other hand, cupping it in both of hers.

“He’s never late. It’s something he insists on, never being late. If he’s late, it means he’s not coming.”

“Weiss…”

“He was never coming.”

Ruby heard Weiss’ voice shake and could tell she was about to break and collapse, so she stepped even closer and wrapped her arms around Weiss’ body, Penny stepped into the hug as well and put her arms around the pair of them, holding them. The two felt her crumple into the hug, silent tears running down her cheeks as she whispered “I hate him. I hate him.”


	5. Day 5 "Oh, I'm In Love"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 prompt for the Non-AU, and Penny, Weiss, and Ruby all discover that they may be in love with their best friends, all on the same day. What are the chances of that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chances are clearly very high.
> 
> Also this one might just have gotten away from me here with how long it got...

Penny raised her hand to press the button to call, but hesitated. Was she ready to do this? It may turn awkward, but she needed to speak to someone with more...experience. She wasn’t sure how much experience they had, but they had more life and social experience than she did, so they would hopefully be helpful.

“Penny? This is a...surprise. How can I help you?”

“Hello Special Agent Schnee! How are you doing today?”

“I am well. How are you?” Winter still sounded a little confused.

“I am doing wonderfully today thank you.” Penny paused and Winter stayed silent as well, waiting patiently for Penny. “May I ask you for some advice?”

“Certainly.”

“I am confused about some personal feelings I’m having.”

Winter’s eyes widened slightly but she showed no emotion otherwise. “What sort of personal feelings? Do they involve someone?”

“I’m not sure of my feelings, but I think so yes. I think of them almost constantly, I greatly enjoy spending time with them, I have saved a folder of images of them smiling as it makes me very happy to see, and I like looking at them before I rest in the evening.” Even though she didn’t need to, she let out a breath, she’d seen other people do it before and thought it might help.

Winter was quiet as she looked Penny over. She knew exactly what the other girl was describing. But how to explain it? “How long have you felt like this?”

Penny rolled through her memory. “It has been 23 days, 5 hours and 17 minutes.”

“You remember exactly?” Winter couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Yes. I noticed how I felt happier when looking at them smiling and it‘s when I saved the first image.” Penny smiled softly thinking back: It was still her favourite of all the images she had of Ruby and Weiss.

“Do you feel this strongly about other people?”

“No.” Penny didn’t hesitate, she knew that she didn’t feel like this about anyone else.

“The feelings you’re describing sound like you like them very much, and that you like them as more than a friend.”

“Like them more than a friend? Do you mean love?” Penny tilted her head slightly; she hadn’t considered it would be love.

“Maybe not love, not because you’re not capable of feeling it, but because most people don’t fall in love very quickly. It can take time.” They were both quiet for a moment. “Do they know that you’re an android with an aura?”

“Yes.”

“That’s surprising. I thought you weren’t supposed to tell anyone?” Penny at least had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “And how did they react when they found out?”

“They said that as far as they were concerned I was still a person. That it didn’t matter if I had been born or made, because I was still a person to them. That I still mattered.”

Winter didn’t say a word after that for a minute or two, Penny staying silent as well. When she finally spoke, it was measured. “If they know about what you are, and they reacted that positively, then they sound like a good person. I don’t have a lot of experience in this area, however one of the things I do know is that it is always best to tell the person that you have feelings for them.”

“I understand. Thank you very much Special Agent Schnee! I will definitely tell Ruby and Weiss how I feel about them in the near future!” 

Penny leaned forward and ended the call, although not before Winter’s eyes popped and she spluttered out “Wait, Wei...” before the call cut off. Penny smiled and headed back to her room, skipping slightly. 

When she got back, she looked up ‘Love’ and the things it entailed to remind herself. Whilst she wasn’t sure what love felt like, after her talk with Special Agent Schnee she felt a lot more certain that she liked both Ruby and Weiss as more than friends, so it may be what she felt.

“Ah! Are you in love? A questionnaire to determine if you’re in love.”

**Question 1:**

_Do you find yourself thinking about them?_

_All the time_

_Frequently_

_Sometimes_

_Never_

“I do think about them more than just frequently, so I would have to say, ‘All the time’.”

**Question 2:**

_Do you check your scroll?_

_Yes_

_Occasionally_

_No_

“I don’t understand why this would determine if I was in love or not, but I do check my scroll a lot to see if I have new messages from either of them.”

**Question 3:**

_Why?_

_To see if I have new messages_

_To check work_

_To check if my in-game tree has grown_

_I don’t check it very often_

“Oh. That makes more sense.”

**Question 4:**

_How do you view this person?_

_They are flawless_

_They have flaws but I accept them for who they are_

_They have good and bad_

_They are mostly bad_

“Ruby and Weiss are not flawless, but I do think they are very pretty.”

**Question 5:**

_Do you re-read messages or think about moments together?_

_Yes, because I like reliving the moment_

_Sometimes, it makes me smile_

_From time to time_

_I think it’s a waste of time_

Penny knew what answer to put here, her folder of saved images and memories of the three of them smiling and laughing together was something she viewed almost every single day.

**Question 6:**

_What do you feel when you see this person?_

_Nothing_

_Mild happiness_

_Excitement_

_Butterflies in my stomach_

“I’d be very worried if butterflies had managed to get into my stomach.”

**Question 7:**

_Do you tend to imagine a future together with this person?_

_Yes, I love to imagine us together_

_Sometimes, it makes me feel nice_

_Rarely, but it happens,_

_Never._

Penny hadn’t actually stopped to think of a future with Ruby and Weiss, and realised it came to her mind easily. A large house, room for the three of them, Ruby and Weiss very happy, which in turn made Penny happy.

**Question 8:**

_Are you afraid of losing this person?_

_It’s my greatest fear_

_It would be very tough_

_I would move on quickly_

_There are plenty of other people in the world, so no_

She thought about losing them and felt her stomach tighten and feel like it had dropped downwards. “I think I wouldn’t like it very much at all.”

**Question 9:**

_What is the thing you like most about this person?_

_Their smile_

_Attractiveness_

_Personality_

_Kindness_

_We share the same job_

“I really like their smile, but they’re both very kind, and very pretty too.” 

**Question 10:**

_How would you feel if you couldn’t see this person for a long time?_

_Sad_

_The same as normal_

_Worried_

_Nervous_

Penny thought back to the time when she had been told to stay away from Ruby and her team originally. She had followed her orders but hadn’t been happy about it, and now she sometimes deliberately ignored orders so she could see Ruby and Weiss.

After entering the final answer, Penny sat back and looked at the results: “Oh. I’m in love.” Having figured it out with the help of Special Agent Schnee and the quiz, she smiled to herself, and, looking out her door, before slipping away into the evening.

“Err Weiss? Ruby? You’ve got a visitor.” Blake was standing next to the curtains about to pull them shut, staring out into the night sky. Ruby stuck her head out from the edge of the bed, putting her scroll to one side, whilst Weiss turned around in the chair, pausing in brushing her hair to see what Blake meant. Yang leaned further out of her bed so that she could have a look as well, never one to resist poking her nose in.

“Oh my Dust Penny you didn’t...” Weiss whispered as she dropped her hairbrush and rushed up to the window to look at the girl hovering outside their dorm window, a grin on her face and one hand raised in a wave. She threw the window open and grabbed for Penny’s hand, pulling her inside, at which point Penny shut the jet pack off, stumbling to the floor. Weiss looked at her with a furious glare and crossed her arms. “Penny you absolute dolt!”

“Weiss?” Weiss felt her heart drop at the hurt in Penny’s voice but soldiered on.

“We said not to come, why did you ignore us?” Yang and Blake looked at each other before quickly pretending they were either asleep or not paying attention; Yang rolling over in her bed and facing the wall, whilst Blake pulled a book out and buried her nose in it, covers pulled up to her chest.

Penny looked to Ruby for help and she answered, dropping to the floor and kneeling next to Penny, a hand on the small of her back.

“I...I wanted to spend even more time with you both. And you’d said a sleepover would be lots of fun, we can paint our nails, and try on clothes!” 

Ruby looked up to her partner, a slight warning tone in her voice that Weiss had rarely heard before, “ _Weiss_...”

She sighed, “It’s not that we don’t want to do it, or that it won’t be fun Penny...” She crouched down in front of Penny and looked into her eyes, noticing that she could barely see anything different between them and a normal pair of eyes, the vibrant green irises shone like no human eyes could, but other than that there was practically no difference. “You snuck out of an Atlas military ship to have a sleepover with us. General Ironwood is already a little annoyed that you keep coming to see us without your guards, so you could really get in trouble for sneaking out at night.” Weiss looked at Ruby meaningfully, hoping she’d back her up.

“What Weiss is _trying_ to say is that we do want to spend time with you, we love spending time with you! We just don’t want you to get in trouble because of us, it’s not fair on you. But seeing as you’re already here, we might as well enjoy it!” Ruby ended on a high note grinning at Weiss, who rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, but both Penny and Ruby could see the corners of Weiss’ mouth curling up a little.

She crossed her arms and looked away from both of the girls on the floor, “The sensors on the ship will be designed to stop people trying to sneak in, so it’s probably more dangerous for you to try to sneak back in tonight.”

Ruby’s face lit up and Penny ran through Weiss’ words in her head a few times. “So, what you’re saying is that it’s better for me to stay over rather than try to get back onto the ship?” Weiss gave a barely noticeable nod, still looking away from the two. “That’s wonderful!” Penny jumped up and grabbed Weiss in a hug, who only hesitated for a moment before relaxing into it. 

Penny had improved a lot when it came to her hugs, one weekend whilst Weiss had been intent on studying, Penny and Ruby had practiced them. Once Weiss had finished studying, the other two had tested it out on her to check she’d got the pressure and strength right. Weiss was still a little unused to being hugged, something Blake had bonded with her over...although Weiss wasn’t sure why. Which, whilst it irked her that she didn’t know the full background of her teammate, she accepted, as the others didn’t know the full depths of what she’d been through at the Schnee Manor back in Atlas. She _might_ reveal it in time, and they might reveal their own pasts too, but Weiss didn’t know when, or if, that would happen.

Weiss still cringed if Neptune or Jaune came too close to her, or tried to touch or hug her at all, but she figured that was because she wasn’t interested in them at all and found them distasteful. Jaune for his never-ending attempts to go out with her (Couldn’t the guy take a hint?) and Neptune for his downright flirtatiousness with literally _anything_ with a pulse. If somebody was going to flirt with her, then they should just focus on her alone, it was common courtesy! On that point she had to concede that at least Jaune didn’t try to flirt with anyone else...although she wished he would!

Weiss was brought back into the world by Penny letting go and Ruby starting to tear the sheets off Weiss’ bed. “Ruby what are you _doing_?!”

Ruby paused mid movement, sheets bunched up in her hands and a look on her face as if she hadn’t expected it. “I’m taking the sheets off your bed?”

Weiss closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, “I suppose I did ask _what_...but _why_ are you doing it?”

“Well if we’re going to have a sleepover then Penny needs somewhere to sleep, and just sleeping in one of our beds is unfair to one of us, so if we get both mattresses down and put them on the floor there should be enough room across both of them so all three of us can sleep, and nobody feels left out.” Ruby smiled at Weiss hopefully.

Weiss blinked slowly and then shrugged. Her team leader may have been a dolt quite a bit of the time, but she did make good points from time to time. She walked over and started to remove the sheets with Ruby, and the two of them lifted the mattress up, Penny helping out on that point, before placing it in the middle of the floor between Blake and Weiss’ beds. They repeated the process with Ruby’s bed, except Penny did the majority of the lifting of the mattress, especially after Ruby stumbled and nearly ended up dropping the whole thing on herself. 

“Now that’s all done, what should we do now?” Ruby was sat in the middle of the two mattresses, legs crossed and grinning. 

“Oh! I know! Why don’t we brush Weiss’ hair?” Penny clapped her hands and they both looked at Weiss.

“Err...” She looked between the two girls, a look of ecstatic happiness and hope on both of their faces and sighed. She wasn’t so heartless as to turn the two of them down, not when they looked _that_ happy. “Fine. Just please be careful? I might not be as protective of it as the blonde brute up there...”

“Hey!”

“I thought you were pretending to sleep?” Weiss said pointedly.

“...Shit.” Exaggerated snores started to come from Yang’s bed and Weiss rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face. Yang had grown on her considerably over the last year or so, not that she’d ever admit it.

“...But I still care about my hair.”

“Don’t worry Weiss my friend! We will be extra gentle with you.” Penny grinned and headed over to the desk where Weiss had been sitting before, picking an extra chair up along the way. Ruby copied her and soon they were sat either side of the chair Weiss had been in, looking at her invitingly.

Weiss walked over and sat down between the two girls, smoothing her nightdress out as she sat down and looked forwards. She felt a soft hand collect her hair from the base of her neck and gently pull it out over the back of the pale blue nightdress and chair.

“We’ll take it turns alright? I’ll do it for a little bit, then Penny, and then swap until you’re happy with it alright?” Ruby’s voice was calm and lacked the majority of the excitement that normally ran as an undercurrent throughout the day. Ruby slowly started to brush the end of Weiss’ hair, slowly working out the few tangles and knots that were still left. Weiss had barely begun to brush her hair before Penny’s impromptu arrival, so there were still things for Ruby to work through. Weiss was amazed at how gentle Ruby was, her own short hair was a lot easier to manage, and Weiss had seen her run a quick hand through it and wince as she caught the odd knot, but other than that she had never shown this gentle of a side to her before.

Weiss could only describe the feeling as one of complete calm and relaxation. The three of them didn’t talk as Ruby brushed, Weiss content to sit there and be pampered, Ruby happily brushing away, a look of concentration of her face, and Penny watching the pair of them, running through the emotions she felt in her chest and head, trying to make sense of them.

After a few minutes Ruby leaned back and passed the brush to Penny, who took it gingerly. “Umm Ruby?”

“Yes Penny?”

Weiss also looked up, opening her eyes to stare into the mirror so she could see Penny.

“Could you please help me get the rhythm and strength right? I don’t want to hurt Weiss.”

Ruby’s smile was so wide it nearly reached her ears, and Weiss quickly looked away from the mirror so the two girls behind her wouldn’t see the smile on _her_ face that almost matched Ruby’s. It made Weiss’ heart swell to hear that Penny wanted to be gentle for her. Penny’s android body was incredibly strong, and she had troubles at time working out the right amount of force to use. Until she’d practiced hugging with Ruby, her hugs had almost felt like the life was being squeezed out of you. Now they were just tight enough so you felt them, but loose enough that you could still breathe. The fact that she wanted to be shown how to brush her hair gently made Weiss feel even warmer inside.

“Okay, so you take the brush like this…that’s good. Now, start about halfway down her hair and then do it with me.” Weiss felt Ruby’s hands guide Penny’s hand and the brush from just between her shoulder blades below her neck, all the way down to the small of her back. A moment after their hands and the brush left the bottom of her hair, she felt the brush go back into her hair, a little to the right of where it had been previously.

A couple of full strokes later, Ruby let Penny’s hand go and left her to brush Weiss’ hair on her own. Weiss looked and saw a look of intense concentration on Penny’s face as she gingerly brushed the long white strands of hair, getting slightly more confident the more she did it. The other two swapped over again, Ruby taking over the brushing, doing it from the crown of Weiss’ head all the way down, holding it gently in the other hand as she did.

“Your hair is so soft right after you wash it, it’s gorgeous.” Weiss felt her cheeks go pink, although her eyes were closed so she couldn’t see just how bad it was. The next few minutes were silent aside from the sound of Penny and Ruby gently brushing Weiss’ hair, and Weiss felt herself fall into complete relaxation, the room drifting away and the only thing that she could focus on or think about was the sensation of her two closest friends gently brushing her hair. Her shoulders dropped slightly as the tension flowed out of them with every stroke. It was slightly relaxing when she brushed her own hair, but it was, well, maybe not a chore exactly, but a well-practiced habit that she engaged in every night. She found it a little therapeutic but never to this extent.

Weiss could barely remember the last time she’d felt this calm and relaxed, everything since her tenth birthday had been a source of constant pressure and stress to live up to her Father’s expectations that she had almost forgotten what it was like to just enjoy life. _When was the last time I felt like this?_ A small memory crept in from the outer edges of her brain, an older woman, hair pulled up into a graceful bun, sat behind a younger Weiss, just under ten years old, her mother singing to her as she brushed her hair. _Why does that memory come back now? It had been the last time Mother had been sober enough or cared enough to make me feel loved. So why is it coming back to me now? I’m happy and calm, maybe even stress free, but that doesn’t explain why I…_

_Oh._

Her eyes flew wide open as the realisation hit her like an explosion of fire dust. Where she had been calm before, now thoughts sprinted through her head as she tried to make sense of what her feelings meant. Was it Ruby? Was it Penny?

Oh.

_Oh no._

It was both of them wasn’t it? Weiss thought about Ruby, the adorable dolt that cared so much about other people, going out of her way to become a Huntress just to help she had never met before. Someone who had, despite the terrible start they’d had, spent so much time making sure that Weiss always felt a part of the team and that she belonged. She’d long since stopped complaining and whining the whole time when Weiss forced her to study, except she didn’t need to force her anymore did she? Ruby groaned about it once, but never with the same strength as she used to before, usually agreeing to it immediately. Her excitable and bouncy attitude just added to the overall cuteness, hair bouncing and cloak flying behind her any time she ran.

Penny though? Well, it was undeniable that Penny was cute too. Freckles dotting her cheeks, green eyes that shone like emeralds, despite the technological nature of them, the ginger bob curling on top of her shoulders, and her over enthusiastic and naïve view of life was just endearing overall. Yes, Weiss had been a little less than happy to meet her originally, and had been a little concerned by Penny, but once she’d actually spent a decent amount of time with her, she’d grown on her. Penny knew that she wasn’t the most normal person, her strength was absolutely incredible, but she actively tried to learn to manage it, revealing the caring nature that had been built into her from the start. Penny did what she could to learn so that she could be a good friend, and it had been very successful, as aside from Ruby, Weiss didn’t think there was anyone closer to her.

But…both of them? Was…was that normal? Weiss had never really thought about whether she preferred boys or girls before. She’d tried to flirt with and ask Neptune to the dance to fit in but had never really been _that_ interested in it. When she thought of Neptune now, she felt a roll in her stomach that felt similar to when she had been ill a few weeks ago. Not an enjoyable sensation.

But what if she thought of Ruby and Penny?

Dust it felt amazing. Her heart would beat faster, her body would feel like she was made of air and floating in the clouds. The light brushes of their fingers on the back of her neck when they were brushing her hair sent jolts of electricity down her spine and through her entire body.

But what about her Father? Surely, he’d have something to say about it all, and it would be nothing good. But did she care? Weiss racked her brains and came to the conclusion, no.

Weiss didn’t know much about…the emotion she was feeling that she refused to name just in case, but she knew that being rejected would be absolutely horrible, especially when the people she…yeah. Especially when they were her closest friends and one of them was her partner!

She couldn’t say anything to them. She couldn’t run the risk of either of them finding out.

All of those thoughts went through Weiss’ head in the space of a few seconds, and she reached the conclusion of them just as Ruby said, and flicked the brush away with a final flourish, “Done!”

“So! Umm. What next?”

“We don’t have any nail polish, so painting our nails isn’t an option.” Ruby tapped a finger to her lips in a thoughtful pose, a slight grin on her face that made Weiss roll her eyes fondly.

“We could watch a movie! Quietly so we don’t disturb Blake reading or Yang sleeping.” Penny’s suggestion elicited even louder ‘snores’ from Yang that left Blake smirking into her book.

“Yeah! I’ve got a bunch of movies downloaded on my scroll, we can all cuddle up under the covers and watch it together!”

“Oh that would be wonderful!”

“Cuddle? Under the covers?” Weiss felt her face flush again, going nearly as red as Ruby’s name. She wasn’t sure her heart could take that.

“Well duh, I mean how else are we gonna sleep together after the movie’s done?” Ruby shook her head in disbelief and Weiss heard Blake choke back a snort at Ruby’s unfortunate phrasing. She herself meanwhile felt the blush reach her ears, and at this point wouldn’t have been surprised if her snow-white hair started to turn red as well.

“If you’re going to do that won’t Penny need to get changed into some pyjamas?” The three looked at Blake who shrugged, “I mean, I doubt it would be comfortable sleeping in your skirt.”

“What an excellent point Blake! It would be uncomfortable to sleep in my skirt. However, I did forget to bring a change of clothes.” Penny was still smiling the whole time and didn’t change her facial expression.

“That’s fine Penny, you can borrow some of ours!” Ruby got up and headed towards the chest of drawers that held hers and Weiss’ clothes.

“I don’t think Penny would fit in one of Weiss’ nightdresses, it might be a bit short. Although I don’t know if that would be an issue or not.” If looks could kill Weiss thought, Blake would be _very_ dead. Either she had superhuman abilities that could read minds, or she was annoyingly perceptive. The wink Blake threw her way also made Weiss feel that she was spending just a bit _too_ much time with Yang.

“Oh, that’s a good point Blake, you can borrow mine Penny! They’ll still be a bit short in the legs and stomach a bit because you’re still taller than me, but they’ll cover most of you.” Grabbing a tank top and pyjama bottoms covered in roses she turned and handed them over to Penny. “Just head in the bathroom to get changed okay?”

“Will do Ruby!”

Weiss tried to get her breathing under control whilst Ruby set the holo screen up at the end of the bed and brought a couple of options up on her scroll. Pretty quickly Penny came out of the bathroom wearing Ruby’s pyjamas and holding a folded dress in her arms.

“Penny! Oh my Dust you look so cute!” Ruby squealed when she saw Penny, and Weiss couldn’t help but agree. The pyjamas were a little short and showed a small amount of her stomach, perfectly smooth, and the pyjama pants cut off about two thirds down her shins and showed her ankles and feet. She had also revealed her joints, which weren’t perfectly smooth, and did reveal a little more synthetic design than the human looking design of the rest of her.

“I…I am?” Weiss gave a small smile as she saw that Penny was holding the clothes close to her chest and refused to meet their eyes.

“Yes Penny, you are.” Weiss decided to help her out and try to make her feel more comfortable.

“Thank you Friends! That makes me very happy to hear!” Penny looked up with her eyes closed and a massive smile on her face that reinforced everything Weiss had felt when her hair was being brushed.

Ruby sped over in a blur of petals and lifted one of her arms up, examining her elbow, “This is so amazing! Your joints look so cool, is this why you always wear long sleeves and those thigh highs?”

Penny nodded, “Yes. My father thought it might be strange to see someone with visible joints like I do so he suggested covering them up as they need to be open like this to help with my movement.”

Weiss tried to avoid looking at her joints as she found it a very private and intimate view, but she also felt very warm and thankful that Penny trusted them enough to show them, although maybe Ruby was being just a little too handsy right now…

“The movie Ruby?”

“Right! Yes. I’ll stop now.” Ruby let go of Penny’s arm and shot back to the top of the bed and picked her scroll up, “We’ve got several choices, there’s an action, superhero, or a comedy.”

The three girls sat down and discussed it briefly before deciding on the action movie and then lay down, Ruby in the middle, Weiss on her left side and Penny on her right. As they were watching the movie Ruby looked to each side and saw the two girls watching the movie, Weiss’ porcelain, almost unblemished skin flickering with the reflection from the screen, eyes like cool diamonds, a few strands of hair dangling over her cheek. Penny’s freckles were dotted across her cheekbones, her eyes intently watching the movie and Spruce Willis fighting through an airport.

She felt such a warmth through her body and a level of happiness that she hadn’t felt before. _Why do I feel so super happy? I’ve not had a ton of cookies and am on a sugar rush; I’m just spending time with my two best friends…_

_Oh._

_Is this what Yang meant? When she talked about how she felt around Blake? Am I in love with Weiss and Penny?_ Ruby thought about it, still watching the movie but letting it wash over her and instead thought through her feelings. _Would I want to spend the rest of my life with them both?_ She thought of the future, going on missions with the two of them, and then going back to a living room in a house, curling up on the sofa and watching TV with them. It invoked a sense of longing she hadn’t felt before, and a need for it to happen.

_Yeah. I’m in love with them._

Ruby smiled widely and went back to watching the movie, content in the knowledge that she was in love with her best friends.


	6. Day 6 Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 prompt is Confessions!

Penny looked at herself in the mirror. Whilst she was normally happy with how she looked generally; she had wanted to make certain that she looked as nice as she possibly could for today. The sleepover a couple of days ago had solidified how she felt about Ruby and Weiss, and she didn’t want to wait to tell them. Sneaking away from her guards was just as easy as it had been before, and whilst it had previously elicited a small feeling of guilt, now that she knew she had strong feelings for Ruby and Weiss, she didn’t feel guilty for trying to spend time with them alone.

Reaching their dorm room, she knocked on the door quickly, and Ruby opened it, smiling as soon as she saw Penny. “Penny! Hi! Come in.” Ruby stepped aside and Penny walked in.

“Is Weiss here as well?”

“She left a note saying she needed to go to the library but wouldn’t be too long.”

“Okay then.” Penny was bouncing up and down on her feet, a smile on her face.

After a moment of seeing Penny vibrate with happiness, Ruby started giggling, “You’ve got something you really want to say, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Penny nearly shouted it, she could feel herself getting more and more excited. She was going to do it!

“What is it?” Ruby smiled at her and Penny saved another image in her folder, which by now was getting very large indeed.

“I have done some research into this and spoken with someone who has more experience than I do, and I think I’m in love with you.”

Ruby’s jaw dropped but felt her heart swell with happiness. Penny loved her? Dust, one of her crushes felt the same way! Then they both heard the door swing shut and looked at each other, their happiness fading quickly as they knew exactly what had just happened.

Weiss’ ran down the corridor, using her glyphs to give her a little boost every now and then to keep her going quickly, but also turning down random corridors, not really caring where she was going, just that she needed to get away. _Of course. Of course that would happen. I’m damaged goods. Why would anyone want me? It’s only natural that they would fall for each other, they’re so similar. I’ve just been a third wheel the whole time, haven’t I? Just believing that they felt for me how I felt for them._

Weiss felt her legs give way, and she stumbled, landing hard on the stone flooring, crying out as her knee and palms stung. She looked around and felt her heart and stomach drop even further. “Great. Even when I don’t know where I’m going, I go somewhere that matters to me.” Weiss was muttering to herself as she looked at the same courtyard she had practiced summoning. “This was it wasn’t it? I didn’t notice until a while later, but this was where it started to happen. When they gave me help and support.” She sat down in a corner and pulled her knees up, groaning when she saw that she’d taken some skin off her knee.

Weiss watched as her knees started to get wet from droplets of water as the tears started to flow more freely, until she was sobbing uncontrollably into her arms and knees. _I never should have got close to either of them! It was always going to end this way, with people leaving me and ending up alone._

Weiss didn’t hear the gasp, nor the quick footsteps, but she felt the arms surround her from both sides, and she pushed away, scrambling to her feet to look at Ruby and Penny, staring at her with such looks of worry and concern.

“Weiss…”

“No. It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I just had some bad news that’s all. If you’ll excuse me please.” Weiss turned to go but Ruby shot in front of her, the trail of rose petals floating gently to the floor behind her.

“Weiss, please wait, we need to talk to you.”

“No. I really do need to go; I hope you’re both very…happy together.” The last words came out through gritted teeth and she turned on her heel, heading for the other entrance, only for Penny to stand in front of her, arms crossed.

“Best Friend Weiss you need to stay here and listen to what I have to say as I’ve been told it’s best if all parties know.”

“I don’t. I don’t need to hear anything…”

“Weiss Schnee can you please listen to me?” Weiss was surprised at the look on Penny’s face, eyes narrowed, eyebrows pointed, and her mouth in a straight, tight line. It was the first time she’d seen Penny angry and she didn’t like it. Especially directed at her.

“If I have to, which seeing as you appear to not be letting me leave, I do.” Weiss folded her arms as well and stared at Penny.

“I love you.”

“…What did you say?” Weiss’ tears stopped and she quickly wiped them away to stare at Penny. “Did you just say…?”

“Yes. I did, and I do.” Penny was smiling at her, but Weiss didn’t return the smile.

“Penny if this is you trying to make me feel better then you need to stop and move out of my way because I am _not_ in the mood…”

“I love you Weiss. I have very strong feelings towards you, and after having looked into it more, I have come to the conclusion that I’m in love with you.”

“But…but I heard you say…” Weiss turned to look at Ruby, who was looking a little sheepish as she walked closer to the pair now Weiss had stopped trying to run.

“I did tell Ruby I love her because I do. I love both of you equally. If that’s not reciprocated then I understand, but I hope it is.”

Weiss watched Ruby’s face, and saw the blush slowly spreading across her cheeks and felt her heart hit her throat. _Could she?_

“I…” Ruby looked away, one hand behind her neck and head, the other was pulled across her stomach “I’m fairly certain I love both of you as well. I mean I keep thinking of the three of us cuddling or hugging a lot, and just spending a lot of time together, going to sleep in the same bed…Not like that!” Her face lit up as red as her name as she realised what she’d said, “Like we did on the sleepover, like actually going to sleep together in the same bed. So yeah…” Her voice trailed off a little towards the end.

Weiss looked between the other two and felt her eyes start to tear up again, but this time it wasn’t from sadness. “Oh, Dust, Weiss?” Ruby stepped closer and Weiss reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, crying into her shoulder. “Erm, Weiss?” She mumbled something into Ruby’s shoulder, but neither Ruby nor Penny heard. “What was that? I can’t hear if you talk into my shoulder.” Ruby’s arms were still outstretched from the shock, but she slowly lowered them onto Weiss’ back.

“I love you.” Ruby looked up to Penny and then back to Weiss, who had lifted her head enough so that her voice could be heard. “I love you too, you dolts.”

Penny smiled, “Both of us?”

“Yes. Both of you.” She buried her head into Ruby’s shoulder again, and Penny stepped in, wrapping her arms as far around both of them as she could.

“But how would this even work? I mean, there’s three of us. Relationships are normally between two people.” Weiss looked up between Ruby and Penny trying to work it out.

“Why wouldn’t it work? We each have two hands, see?” Penny stepped back from the hug and grabbed hold of one of Ruby’s and one of Weiss’ hands and held them up. “I’m holding both your hands, so you can hold each other’s hands at the same time as well!” Ruby and Weiss just looked at each other, and then back to Penny’s face, eyes wide and mouth in a wide grin in such an innocent expression of joy that neither of them could hold it back. They started giggling, and Weiss squeezed Penny’s hand.

“I love you.”


	7. Day 7 Combat Skirts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 Combat Skirts! It's the final day of the Non-AU prompt list.

“Erm Weiss? Do you have any spare skirts?” Ruby, Penny and Weiss had been coming back from a trip into Vale when a downpour had started, catching the three of them in the pouring rain.

Weiss looked over at Ruby, who was standing in her soaking wet clothes looking at a very empty chest of drawers, her face a mixture of awkwardness and innocence. “Really Ruby? How did you forget to do your washing, _again_?”

Weiss started to reach into her own chest of drawers and was a little surprised to find her arm fumbling in an empty drawer. _Oh shit_. In the two weeks since she’d started her new relationship with Penny and Ruby - one that involved a lot more sleepovers than before, not that she was complaining - she’d been so distracted that she’d forgotten to do her laundry and wash her clothes. Meaning she was in the exact same situation as Ruby was.

“I...I need to apologise to you Ruby, mostly because I appear to be in the same situation as you. What clean clothes _have_ you got?”

“Err...I’ve got my workout clothes and that’s it. I’m all out of my uniform _and_ my combat skirts.”

Weiss nodded; she was the same. Fortunately, they’d all agreed to set up a separate basket for workout clothes that was cleaned almost every other day, mostly by Yang as she was in the gym nearly every single day. “Penny, you know how you can warm parts of your body up deliberately?”

“Yes, however I thought ahead about this and worked out that to dry all of our clothes to a point that they would be wearable without discomfort would take approximately seven hours.”

“Nope. Not happening. Guess we’ll just go with workout clothes?” Ruby looked to Weiss who grimaced but nodded.

The three headed down to get dinner in dining hall, Penny comfortable and happy, whilst Ruby and Weiss felt a little awkward. It was one thing to be in the gym wearing their gym clothes, that was understood and accepted, however in the rest of the school? It wasn’t normal, but would hopefully be alright, especially at this time of the evening when the majority of people would’ve eaten earlier.

Weiss swore under her breath when she saw that team CRDL was still in the room, lounging on the benches, looking every bit the lazy students they had a reputation for being. The trio grabbed plates and food and were walking to sit down when they heard a loud wolf whistle and they stopped. “Well hellllllo there little red! Why haven’t you worn that outfit more often? It definitely shows your _assets_ off better than that skirt you normally wear!” Cardin’s teammates burst out laughing and Ruby went bright red in the face.

“Ruby? I’m confused. What is he talking about?” Penny looked at Ruby who just shook her head and walked quickly over to the bench and sat down, her girlfriends on either side.

“Cardin’s just being a bully and a dick. But if we react then we’ll just get a bigger reaction and he’ll use it to his advantage, that’s what bullies do.” Weiss slipped her hand into Ruby’s and squeezed, giving her a smile to help.

“It’s fine Penny, I don’t like what he does, but if we ignore him, he’ll get bored and go away. It worked on the bullies back at Signal, so it’ll work here. I can handle being uncomfortable.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to sit there and take being objectified though Ruby. We can take the food back up to the dorm room and eat together there?” Weiss looked at Ruby who shook her head.

“Hey Ice Queen! You need to keep working on those squats, that flat ass ain’t getting any bigger!”

Weiss breathed out slowly and closed her eyes, trying to control the rising anger.

“Weiss, is he making you uncomfortable as well?” Penny’s voice was laden with concern but both Ruby and Weiss could hear the underlying tone that showed she was getting angry.

“He is, but starting a fight in public isn’t something that should be done. Regardless of how _justified_ it is.”

“Hmmm.” Penny clearly had a different view but wasn’t willing to voice her disagreement with her girlfriends and go against their wishes.

“Hey ginger! You look pretty damn tasty yourself, why don’t you come sit with us? We’ll show you a much better time than those two!”

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, and Penny, whilst not fully understanding what Cardin had meant, could see just how angry it had made her girlfriends and figured it wasn’t polite.

“Fuck it?”

“Fuck it.”

A red swirl of petals and a flash of a glyph later and Ruby’s scythe was placed at Cardin’s throat, her feet on the table behind him and finger on the trigger. Weiss’ rapier was pressing ever so gently and menacingly into his crotch. Their words alternated and were hissed through gritted teeth dripping with venom and malice.

“I’m going to say this slowly so your tiny, Grimm sized brain can understand…”

“But if you ever say something like that about Penny again…”

“Then this sword will go through your extremely small and malformed genitals…”

“Before I take your head off easier than a Beowolf.”

“Do we make ourselves clear?”

The rest of his team started to get to their feet to defend their leader only for swords to slam into the table or bench in front of each of them, with another hovering in front of their faces.

“Please do not think about interfering, I’m combat ready! And I _will_ demonstrate it.” Penny had joined her girlfriends and was stood behind them both looking at the remaining three members. She then looked at Cardin, “Please apologise for making my girlfriends uncomfortable and upset. It wasn’t very nice of you.”

Cardin’s eyes were watering at this point and they darted between the swords in front of his team, Weiss’ face, her sword at his crotch, and what he could see of the scythe around his neck. He gulped, feeling his Adam’s apple bounce against the blade of the scythe and gently nodded, terrified. “Sorry.”

Ruby whipped the scythe around and folded it back up, and he let out a long breath of relief. That breath was cut short when Weiss pressed a little harder with Myrtenaster.

“What for?” Her voice this time was a lot sweeter but no less malicious.

“For being sexist and catcalling you three.”

Weiss pulled Myrtenaster back, flicked it meaningfully for the door, and Cardin took the hint, sprinting away out the hall without a second glance back to his teammates who watched him go, then looked back to Penny. She pulled the swords back into her ever present backpack and they scrambled to follow Cardin out the hall.

“I think I’m going to need to disinfect Myrtenaster tomorrow.” Weiss held her rapier up, eyeing the point with disgust.

Ruby snorted, and Weiss smirked at her and Penny before they started laughing.

“Shall we go upstairs to watch a movie and cuddle?” Ruby and Weiss looked at each other before nodding at Penny’s suggestion, holding her hand as they went back to their dorm room.

“I’ll be glad to get back into my normal combat skirt after today. I’m never going to forget to do laundry again.”

Weiss laughed, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, but I agree about the combat skirt. I’m not getting dinner in just my workout clothes again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed doing this week, even if I did struggle with this last prompt a little bit. Thank you to everyone who's read any of the chapters, it means a lot that people have read this :)


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